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Archive | April, 2013

I was blissfully unaware that April 25 was “Alice Day”, an occasion for pedophiles to celebrate their proclivities. However, Anonymous was very much aware. The hacker organization took down several pedo and pedo-friendly websites, including NAMBLA’s (The North American Man-Boy Love Association). What are your thoughts about the attack on NAMBLA? Do you approve? What about the organization’s rights to free speech? Is there a line? Where should it be drawn, Disinfonauts?

Target No. 1 is a Russian-hosted imageboard filled with password-protected albums such as “boy Self pics” and “girls in the bathroom.” Target No. 2 is a “free bookmarking & blogging platform” with “sex” in the URL. Target No. 3 is a popular porn-streaming site with the tagline “where anything legal stays” and the unfortunate reputation for lax security measures against user-submitted underage content. (In talking to the Anonymous source, this is the one he seemed most excited about taking down.) Another is a North American Man-Boy Love Association page.

Are we all on team aqua ape? The admittedly far-fetched theory posits that certain key traits hint that humanity’s ape ancestors spent significant time in the water. Complete Genomics writes:

A controversial theory that humans evolved from amphibious apes has won new support. The aquatic ape theory, whose supporters include David Attenborough, suggests that apes emerged from the water, lost their fur, started to walk upright and then developed big brains.

While it has been treated with scorn by some scientists since it first emerged 50 years ago, it is backed by a committed group of academics, including Sir David. The group will hold a major London conference next week.

One of the organizers, Peter Rhys Evans told the Observer that humans are very different from other apes, as we lack fur, walk upright, have big brains and subcutaneous fat and have a descended larynx – which is common among aquatic animals.

via chycho
To say that Democracy Now! is a powerhouse when it comes to tackling some of the most important issues of our time is an understatement. Since their inception in 1996 they have shared and provided a perspective that most mainstream media outlets have been restricted from reporting.

We were privy to an excellent example of such reporting on April 23-24 when Jeremy Scahill, “the National Security Correspondent for The Nation magazine and author of the international bestseller Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army”, was interviewed by Amy Goodman.

The first part of the interview is focused on Scahill discussing the implications of Obama’s kill list and the details of the administration’s assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old Denver-born son Abdulrahman, two U.S. citizens killed by drones strikes in Yemen in 2011.

The responses in the immediate aftermath of the Boston marathon bombing were predictable: the idea that this may have been a false flag event and the dismissal of such a notion with the derogatory expression “conspiracy theory”. Certainly, there are many who instantly jump to the conclusion that “the government did it” when tragic events such as this occur before waiting for all the evidence to emerge – in the current political climate of seemingly never-ending lies and deception, this knee-jerk reaction is perhaps understandable. Equally, those who dismiss these allegations are right to let the dust settle – new evidence emerges and narratives spin from the wheels of government and media, frequently changing and often contradicting one another.

It came as no surprise to anyone that firebrand radio host Alex Jones was the first to call “false flag”. But perhaps less expected was the manner in which the term itself became something of a meme – Google trends showed a major spike in searches and it even made the mainstream media (although expecting Yahoo News to deal with the subject with even a modicum of accuracy would be optimistic, to say the least).

Lets help bring to mainstream awareness a professional documentary with the potential to radically alter our cultures profound misconceptions surrounding psychedelic medicines and their value to humanity.

Help share the TRUTH. Spread the word about NEURONS TO NIRVANA, a new documentary that dares to break the taboo surrounding psychedelic medicines and explores their proven potential to heal and alleviate suffering on a global scale.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

NEURONS TO NIRVANA: UNDERSTANDING PSYCHEDELIC MEDICINES.

This is the most important thing you will experience today. This is from Wikipedia about Ayahuasca:

“People who have consumed ayahuasca report having massive spiritual revelations regarding their purpose on earth, the true nature of the universe as well as deep insight as how to be the best person they possibly can. This is viewed by many as a spiritual awakening and what’s often described as a rebirth. It’s nearly always said that people experience profound positive changes in their life subsequent to consuming ayahuasca and it is often viewed as one of the most effective tools of enlightenment.”

NEURONS TO NIRVANA: UNDERSTANDING PSYCHEDELIC MEDICINES is a richly-illustrated feature documentary about the resurgence of psychedelics as medicine.… Read the rest

Lifehacker has a rundown of recommendations for simple browser add-ons (such as Disconnect, Do Not Track Me, and the adorably-mascotted Ghostery) for keeping your online browsing and communications safe from tracking:

Anti-tracking and anti-cookie extensions have exploded recently. Disconnect (Firefox/Chrome/IE/Safari) is our pick because it continues to add useful features and improve its database, and its secure Wi-Fi and bandwidth optimization features aren’t available in other tools. It blocks third party tracking cookies and gives you control over all site scripts and elements from a simple-to-use toolbar menu. It also protects you from tracking by social networks like Facebook, Google, and Twitter, which use your browsing even off-site to collect data about you.

HTTPS Everywhere (Firefox/Chrome) is a must-have regardless of what other security tools you opt to use. Once installed, the extension will shunt your connection to SSL whenever possible, and will try to find secure versions of the sites you visit.

Astana, Kazakhstan: Most people wouldn’t bother going half way around the world for their fifteen seconds of fame. Ok, so maybe there was little fame to be found but, it was still worthwhile to spend two days flying back and forth to attend the two-day annual Eurasian Media Forum in Kazakhstan, a Central Asian nation that is actually the 9th largest country in the world, with ultra wealthy oil and gas fields.

It was also one of the few countries in the world that gave up its nuclear weapons. South Africa is another one.

Kazakhstan flickered briefly in our popular culture when the film Borat made fun of the place—it was shot in Romania, not there—and more recently, figured in the investigation into the terrifying actions of the Tsarnaev ‘Bomb Brothers’ in Boston responsible for doing so much vicious damage at the Marathon. It was reported that they had also lived here although local media disputes it. (Two Kazakh kids are said to be in jail now in the US for visa violations although it’s not clear how or if they are linked.)

The forum here deals with political and media issues and attracts top journalists and policymakers to hold forth on panels. I was on one with none other than Jimmy Carter’s national security advisor.… Read the rest

This is where to hear about cutting edge research on psilocybins as a treatment for depression, or an old man’s incomprehensible description of the ego death that occurs after dropping acid 50 times. Via the Daily Californian, Neha Kulsh writes:

This past weekend, the Psychedelic Science 2013 Conference, co-hosted by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), took over two floors of the Oakland Marriott City Center. Recreational drug users and academics alike networked at a conference that UC Berkeley professor of molecular and cell biology David Presti deemed “extraordinary.”

The headlining act of Sunday was easily Earth and Fire Erowid. Erowid, the nonprofit dedicated to educating users on psychoactive drugs and plants, also manages the site EcstasyData.org. Users can anonymously submit ecstasy (in tablet or powder form) to the DEA-licensed laboratory for testing. EcstasyData then publishes the findings on the website along with photos.

The conference’s main focus, however, was the use of psychedelics to alleviate pain for major ailments like PTSD and nicotine addiction.

After being diagnosed with liver cancer in 2009, Norman B. Smith applied to the liver transplant list at Cedar-Sinai hospital. While waiting for a transplant, Mr. Smith underwent chemotherapy in an attempt to destroy the cancer eating away at his liver. This caused severe side-effects, common to many cancer patients. In an attempt to curb the pain, and on the recommendation of his oncologist, Mr. Smith began using medical marijuana. Cannabis has become increasingly common as a medicine of choice for patients undergoing chemotherapy, since it increases appetite and reduces pain—minimizing the chance of a patient developing cancer related wasting syndrome. Finally, in September of 2010, Mr. Smith was notified that he was eligible for a liver transplant and was placed on the liver transplant list.

On the 70th anniversary of the first intentional LSD trip, a compelling new documentary film about the academic study of psychedelic drugs is released.

Psychedemia was the first academic conference funded by an American university to explicitly focus on the risks and benefits of psychedelic experience. Ph.D’s, M.D.’s, M.A’s, graduate students and lay folk from all walks of life convened at the University of Pennsylvania over the 27th-30th of September 2012 to present new research addressing the historical and potential influences of psychedelics on knowledge production, health, and creativity. The four day event brought together scientists, artists, journalists, historians and philosophers from more than 10 countries for an Ivy League convocation unprecedented not only in view of its controversial subject matter, but in its unparalleled inter-disciplinary scope.

Directed and Edited by two-time Emmy Award winner Vann K. Weller and Drew Knight, the documentary is being dedicated to the Public Domain to be freely used for any purpose as an intellectual and cultural artifact – broadcast directly through YouTube.… Read the rest